Look inside Ireland’s oldest pub – it might be the oldest in the world

If there’s one thing the Irish do well it’s a cosy pub, and why wouldn’t we hold that special talent when we’ve had over a millennium created the perfect pub.

Sean’s Bar in the town of Athlone in Co. Westmeath holds the title of the oldest pub in Ireland, based on the site where a tavern has kept people fed and watered since 900 AD. Not only does its 1,115 years make it the oldest pub in Ireland, but it’s also considered to be the oldest pub in the whole continent of Europe. It even has the certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records to prove it.

In 2014, Seán’s Bar beat off competition from the oldest pub in Britain, the Bingley Arms in Bardsey, North Leeds, which with an opening date of 953 AD just didn’t make the mark.